As a political strategist, civil rights activist, author and producer, David Mixner has spent a lifetime in the forefront of American politics and international human rights. Mixner will reflect on his political work and share his insight on the issues that defined his career—progressive politics, foreign policy, LGBT rights and wildlife advocacy—at Washington College on October 14. The presentation, followed by a book signing, begins at 7:00 p.m. in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall on the college campus.
Once named by Newsweek magazine as the most powerful gay man in America, Mixner has been an unofficial advisor to elected officials and business leaders on domestic and foreign policy for decades. He has played instrumental roles as manager, fundraiser, or strategist in numerous political campaigns. Most notably, he worked for presidential candidates Bill Clinton and Gary Hart and for Jerry Brown’s California campaigns for Senate and Governor. Overall, he has raised more than $30 million for candidates and charity organizations, including more than $1 million for openly gay and lesbian candidates.
Mixner’s accomplishments expand beyond the campaign trail. A prolific writer, he has contributed to TIME, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The Advocate. His critically acclaimed 1996 memoir Stranger Among Friends detailed the emotional and political impact of his coming out to family, friends, and colleagues. The New York Times Book Review praised it as “an intelligent and challenging biography of contemporary America.”
Mixner was executive producer of the award-winning documentary House on Fire, which highlighted the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African American community. He continues to work on access, prevention and treatment projects in Russia, Ukraine and a number of African nations, and as well as here in the United States.
Co-sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for the American Experience, the Cater Society, and the Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, Mixner’s talk is free and open to the public.
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